


Little Believers

by Lhugy_for_short



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Child Luna, Child Noctis, Gen, Growing Up, Pre-Canon, Regis really is number one dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:29:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23919061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lhugy_for_short/pseuds/Lhugy_for_short
Summary: Luna simply cannot understand this stupid, spoiled prince who’s come to live with her family in Tenebrae. How could anyone expect a boy like Noctis to one day be a great king?
Relationships: Lunafreya Nox Fleuret & Noctis Lucis Caelum, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret & Regis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30
Collections: Quarantine FFXV Exchange 2020





	Little Believers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EzraTheBlue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzraTheBlue/gifts).



> This is a gift fic for EzraTheBlue, who requested Luna and Noctis! I've actually never written canon Luna fic before, so I don't know if this turned out any good, but I hope you like it anyway ;;;;  
> I wanted to approach this from the standpoint of their time together as children in Tenebrae. Noct, having gone through a traumatic experience, wouldn't have been the happiest 8-year-old in the world, and Luna must have found his mood swings trying. But never fear, Best Dad Regis is on the way to lay down some words of wisdom, and set the foundation for the future as we know it.
> 
> (For the record, I do like Luna *cough Kingsglaive cough* so I tried to capture her realistically here, for better or worse. She's a 12-year old with the weight of the future and the past on her shoulders - but she's still 12. Let her be a kid sometimes lol!)

Luna had never been one to question her mother’s decisions. Few did, of course, as Sylva was not only the 113th Divine Oracle, but also the ruling Queen of Tenebrae, as well. Her word was often, quite literally, law. Yet even were that not the case, Luna respected and loved her mother, and generally understood that she did nothing without the best intentions of the family at heart.

But this! This was simply too much. 

The young prince of Lucis had been injured, her mother had said the day Noctis Caelum had been brought into their home. A tragic car accident had taken the Queen Aulea’s life, and left the young boy unable to walk. He needed time to heal, and a quiet place to rest. Tenebrae, Sylva had insisted, was the perfect place for him. 

At first, Noctis had done little else but sleep. He was taken to a stately guest room in the palace, one usually reserved for esteemed ambassadors and nobles attending the court. For a child of eight, prince or not, it had seemed an unnecessary extravagance, but Luna had tried not to question that decision, either. 

It was nearly a week later that Noctis at last woke up. 

He was quiet, the doctors said, but his body was resilient. With their medicine and enough time, he would likely learn to walk again. Yet the process would be slow - months, perhaps even years - and in the interim the task of entertaining the young prince fell to his closest peer: Luna. 

Generally speaking, she liked Noctis. When they’d been younger, and the prince still in swaddling, she remembered the way his cheeks had puffed up when he laughed. She remembered the way his tiny hand had grabbed her tiny finger and squeezed with a surprising strength. She remembered him as being  _ cute.  _

But time and distance had changed everything. Noctis wasn’t a baby anymore, though even at eight years old he still often acted like it. He cried easily. He was picky about his meals, eating around anything that wasn’t either full of sugar or full of meat. He wailed for his mother whenever the doctors came to examine his back, and Luna sat outside listening to his screams.

_ This  _ was hardly the Noctis she remembered from her childhood. This was a spoiled boy, lazy and cowardly in the face of hardship. Was he truly one day to become a king? To walk in the footsteps of his forefathers, the great names of Lucian history, with such a childish attitude? Did he have any idea of the path set out before him?

Yet pervasive as such thoughts were, she kept them to herself. She continued to do her duty as was expected of her, and stayed by Noctis’ bedside while his recovery progressed. She discovered that he seemed to enjoy stories, and so to pass the time she’d begun to take her favorite books along with her when she visited him. One of them,  _ The Cosmogony for Little Believers _ , was the one she had chosen to read that morning. 

“‘And it is by the Divine light of the Six Astrals,’” she read aloud in a proud voice. “‘That we are graced with all our joy and happiness. All the things that we love - and the ones who love us in return - are part of the gifts bestowed upon us by the gods.’”

“Pfft. Yeah, right.” 

Smoothly ignoring the attempt at an interruption, Luna continued. “‘In return, we honor the kindness of the Astrals by honoring their gifts. Love oneself, love one’s father and mother--’” 

“This is dumb.” 

“‘--And love the beauty of nature, as the divines have intended.’” 

“Can you read something else?” 

“Noctis.” Luna pressed her lips together in a firm line, and set her book down in her lap. “I chose this passage specifically for you. One day, you’ll be the king of Lucis. It will be your duty to protect the Divine light as it shines on your people.” 

“What does that even mean?” When the prince turned to face her, his eyes were unsettlingly hard in such a delicate face. “The gods are stupid. They don’t help people, they just hurt everyone.” 

Despite the way his words struck her, she forced a civil smile. She thought her mother would probably be proud. “You’re still young, so it’s hard to see how important the Divine Light is to us all. Without the Six--”

“Without  _ them _ , Mom would still be here.” 

There it was. The dualhorn in the room, so to speak, and Noctis had lobbed it at her like a blast of ice magic. Silence fell in the lavish guest room. Luna clenched her fingers around the cover of her book, and cast her eyes to the floor. 

What was she supposed to say to that? Why was Noctis acting like this was somehow  _ her  _ fault? 

“I didn’t…. There aren’t always clear answers….” 

“No one ever wants to talk about it! Mom died, and everyone wants to pretend it’s fine! My stupid dad, the stupid doctors - even  _ you _ .”

“Noctis, can’t you see we’re all just trying to help?”

"You can't bring her back, no one can!" he shouted.

"O-of course not…."

“Then just leave me alone!”

He didn’t mean that. Surely he didn't. Yet even before she could find her voice to reply, Noctis was pushing himself onto his side on the bed. Despite the way the pain made his teeth clench, despite the effort it took, he stubbornly turned his back on Luna and everything she was trying to do for him. 

Fine, then. 

She got to her feet in as dignified a manner as she could, which involved  _ nearly _ launching her book at the hunched form of the prince on the bed. Hah. What would her mother have said about that?  _ He’s our guest, darling. _ Luna wiped bitter tears from her cheeks as she spun on one heel.  _ And you’re his elder, you must be patient. _

No. She had  _ tried _ her best, but this. This was her limit. Noctis Lucis Caelum was  _ impossible. _

With a silent apology to the Oracle Mother, Luna stormed from the room, letting the doors slam behind her with a satisfying  _ thud _ . 

“Spoiled! What a spoiled, selfish boy.” The hallways were empty, and quiet save for her own angry, hurried footsteps on the polished floors. “What’s the point of him staying here? Aren’t there doctors in Lucis that can look after him?” 

She held her book clutched tight to her chest. Fought back a sob of frustration as she followed the corridor left, then right, then left again, feet guiding her on autopilot further away from the prince’s room. “I  _ hate _ him.” 

It wasn’t true, not really, of course. But her chest ached, and the tears were still falling down her cheeks, faster and faster now as her legs carried her into the gardens. Bright sunlight greeted her through the tall paned windows. Flowers, familiar and soothing, surrounded on all sides, and she sobbed to feel their comforting presence. 

Dropping onto a stone bench next to a bed of young sylleblossoms, Luna brought her book to her face and cried into its worn cover. 

These gardens had always been her favorite spot on the palace grounds. Ever since she was a little girl and her father had brought her here to see the flowers she'd loved so dearly. Somehow, this place calmed her. Helped her reclaim the Light inside of herself even when it seemed lost without. When she felt, as she did now, that the path laid before her seemed far too steep. 

_ Oracle. Astrals. The One True King.  _ Her whole life, she'd been brought up knowing her destiny had long since been etched in prophecy. She had spent every waking moment - and many sleeping ones - preparing herself for what she knew the future would bring. Studying, meditation, fasting and training. None of it was easy. Would that she could have tossed it all aside to selfishly wallow in the unfairness of it all! Would that she were a spoiled prince!

“Luna? Lunafreya, child.” 

The voice startled her back to the present. She must have missed the sound of approaching footsteps over her own sobs. Quickly, Luna dragged the back of her hand over her wet cheeks, and sat upright with her back straight, as her mother always instructed. 

“Y-yes? Oh! Your Majesty!” Not expecting anyone else in the gardens, she was particularly surprised - and flustered - to see the King of Lucis himself walking towards her. Regis’ gait was less sure than she remembered in previous visits, his right leg stiffer, more awkward somehow. Yet he still carried himself with the grace and refine one might expect of royalty. And his eyes, steel green, shone with a genuine kindness when he smiled down at her. 

“Please, don’t get up,” he said in a gentle tone, and Luna obediently flopped back down onto the bench. “Are you alright, Luna? I heard you crying from the hallway.” 

“I’m fine,” she recited, neither sincerely nor convincingly. The King, for one, didn’t appear to buy it.

“Hm. Mind if I sit with you for a moment? I’m afraid my knees aren’t what they used to be.” He patted his leg, and Luna shifted to the edge of the bench to give him room. She felt suddenly small next to him, though he wasn’t a particularly large man by any standards. Regis, in his dark, trim suit, with his beard greying at the sides, simply exuded a kind of power that she, slight in her simple white dress, could only hope to one day possess. “Ah, much better. Now, why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind?” 

Oh. Well. Luna glanced down at the book once more clutched tight in her lap. On the cover, a woman with sad eyes and golden hair gazed back at her.  _ Aera Mirus Fleuret _ . The First Oracle. Her ancestor, and, by the will of the gods, her fate. “Er, well, Your Majesty. No. It’s nothing, really.”

“Nothing? Hmm,” Regis said thoughtfully, stroking his beard. “Go on.” 

She felt her cheeks growing warm. “Actually…. I guess I was thinking about...my friend.” 

Not a lie, exactly, though calling Noctis  _ ‘friend _ ’ was a bit of a stretch. Still, she swallowed her pride and went with it. After all, she couldn’t exactly tell the King that it was  _ his son _ that had so fouled her mood. “Something bad happened to my friend. And I’m trying to help them.”

“I see. That’s very kind of you.” 

More heat rushed to her face. Guilt, perhaps. She certainly didn’t feel very deserving of King Regis’ praise. “Oh. What I mean to say is, I want to help them, but they won’t let me. In fact, they don’t seem to want me around at all.” 

Beside her, Regis gave a sage nod. “What a terribly frustrating situation.” 

“Right!” Luna turned more fully to him then, her indignation fueled once more by his sympathy. “It  _ is  _ frustrating! How could anyone be so ungrateful for the things others have done for them?”

“It seems completely one-sided.” 

“Exactly, Your Majesty! I’ve never met anyone so selfish, or...or inconsiderate! He’s simply the worst, as if he doesn’t even care about his duties! I can’t understand how a child like him could ever become some great king!”

She smacked her hand over her mouth, but not in time to keep the traitorous words from spilling out of it. Her eyes flew open wide. Looked up at Regis in a sudden panic, and yet to her surprise, his smile neither faltered nor fell. In fact, he seemed for a long moment not to have heard her at all, instead gazing out at the rows of blossoming flowers and winding vines that grew along the walls of the garden. 

Then, he chuckled. 

“Remind me, how old are you now, Luna?” 

“I….” She set her hand atop the book in her lap to keep it from trembling. “I’m twelve, Your Majesty.” 

“Only twelve, and yet already you carry such a heavy weight on your shoulders. You carry it with pride. When I was your age, I was still playing at wooden swords and chasing cats around the grounds of the Citadel.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond. It certainly conjured up amusing scenes in her mind, but she knew better than to laugh at a king. 

Thankfully, Regis continued while she was still struggling to picture him without a beard. “Noctis is a good boy. He takes after Aulea far more than he does me, though he still has quite a lot to learn.” He smiled again, this time a little sadly. “Perhaps we raised him too sheltered from the realities of the world, I don’t know. All parents worry about these things. But I have no doubt that Noctis will grow into himself one day, when he’s ready. Do you know what I think his greatest strength is?” 

Luna slowly shook her head. 

“His heart. It’s sensitive,” the king continued, with a laugh that meant he’d dealt with his fair share of mood swings in his years. “But it feels more strongly than I think even his mother’s did. So long as Noctis keeps following it, I know he’ll make the right choices. He may even live up to your standards someday, young lady.” 

“U-umm…,” was all Luna could think to say.

Again, Regis laughed, a vibrant sound that filled the gardens and all but dried the last of the tears on pale cheeks. “Forgive me, dear child. I don’t suppose the ramblings of an old man make much sense to anyone. How about this,” he offered instead. “Until Noctis is grown enough to ask you himself, I’ll ask you on his behalf. Will you please stand by him? Trying though he may be,” he added with a wink. 

It wasn’t every day Luna found herself answering requests at the behest of kings. Yet here Regis was, his kind eyes filled with sadness and hope and love for his son, seated next to her in the otherwise silence of the garden, asking for her help. And, though technically her duty as the future Oracle would be to support the One True King, what she was being asked now was...different, somehow. This wasn’t about fulfilling a prophecy. It wasn’t even about Noct’s destiny, or his title as prince. 

She was being asked to stand by a  _ friend _ . 

The realization stuck in her chest, her throat, a strange warmth that made her words sound airy even to her own ears. “I...suppose I could give him a second chance….” 

“Wonderful,” Regis smiled. “Though I hope you’ll be willing to give him a third, and possibly a fourth over time.”

She wasn’t quite sure why, but that had her laughing for the first time in what felt like days. Genuine laughter, so pure as it rang through her that she couldn’t even remember why she’d been so upset before. She also didn’t particularly care that it was highly improper to throw herself into King Regis’ arms and hug him for all that she was worth. Her mother, no doubt, would say something like,  _ Remember your place!  _ Or  _ Always follow proper etiquette in the company of nobility. _

But Regis didn’t care about any of that, either. His arms swallowed her up in an embrace every bit as grateful as her own. She closed her eyes and smiled. “I hope Noct will grow up to be like you someday.” 

“He’ll be far greater,” came the reply. Regis patted her back gently, then pulled away with a wistful smile on his face. “I think I’ve taken enough of your time, young Luna. I should be on my way.” 

“Where are you going?” 

“To visit that troublesome son of mine,” he chuckled. “I’ve found he’s more amenable to my company if I take him some of these.” 

From the inside pocket of his suit, Regis withdrew a pair of small lollipops, each with purple wrappers covered in cartoon grapes. Luna didn’t recognize them - maybe a special brand from Lucis? - but she giggled at the sight all the same. 

“That’s a clever trick. Maybe I’ll take him some of Maria’s sweets tomorrow, if you think it will help.” 

A nod. Regis pocketed the candies again and slowly pushed himself to his feet, favoring his weight on his left leg. “I’m certain he’ll perk right up.”

“And, if it’s not too much trouble, Your Majesty, could you give him a message for me?”

The king smiled. “Of course.” 

“Could you tell him that I’ll bring some different books by later? Maybe he can pick out one that he likes so I can read it for him at lunch time.” 

“I’ll let him know.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” 

Her well-practiced curtsy was followed by a flourishing bow from the king, which left her in another fit of giggles. Regis turned to leave the gardens, and even in his absence Luna knew she was no longer alone. 

She looked down at her book,  _ The Cosmogony for Little Believers _ , with the picture of the sad woman on the front. The First Oracle was not the only face weaved into the tapestry that adorned the cover. Next to her stood the Founder King, the first Hero of Light in Eos, whose true name had been lost to legends. His expression, while grim, was also fierce and proud. Handsome, even. It was his blood that ran in the line of kings, and in Noct’s veins, as well. 

Regis had been right. Given time, Noctis would be a great king. Luna was sure of it. 

Hugging her book excitedly to her chest, she all but skipped from the gardens, heading right to kitchens to ask Maria about those ulwaat berry tarts. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, those tarts,


End file.
